Infectious disease outbreaks happen suddenly and without warning, and currently, the U.S. may not be properly equipped to rapidly respond to such an outbreak because key seats in the federal government remain unfilled, The Washington Post reports.
For instance, President Donald Trump has not yet appointed a permanent director of the CDC or the Agency for International Development, and there are still several empty posts at HHS for health, global affairs and preparedness and response, among others.
Further, it is still unclear who will represent the U.S. when G-20 nations' health ministers will meet in May for the first time.
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"We need people in position to help steer the ship," Steve Davis, chief executive of PATH, an international health technology nonprofit, told the Post.
Beyond the empty positions, experts are also concerned about President Trump's suggested funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the CDC.
Such health agencies are the "front lines of defense for the American people for some pretty awful things," Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma and chair of the House health subcommittee, told the Post. "If the idea of a government is to protect the United States and its people, then these people contribute as much as another wing on an F-35 [fighter jet], and actually do more to save tens of thousands of lives."